365 beers in 365 days

There are a bunch of fairly new New Zealand breweries whose beers are hard to come by in Auckland, but which I’ve been eyeing up eagerly from afar. These include Garage Project, Golden Ticket Brewing, Parrot Dog (whose Bitter Bitch I did finally get to try), and the brewer of today’s beer – Golden Eagle.

This one was picked out and sent up to me by Kieran at Regional Wines. I put an order in for 11 beers last week, and I actually let him pick each and every one of them. It’s not that I’m lazy (I love picking out beer), it’s just that he does such a damn good job of it.

I picked this one from the pantry because I was near-dying of thirst after the walk home, and was seeking a nice, quaffable Pale Ale. This turned out to be absolutely the right choice for the job.

It poured a clear, copper colour with a creamy head that lasted until I’d finished it – which wasn’t that long, but still.

I swirled and sniffed for some time trying to figure out what it smelled like, and I never really came to any definite conclusion… But I’d say there was something slightly farmy about it. I don’t mean cow shit – it was just grassy, earthy and fresh.

On the palate there was a touch of biscuity malty sweetness at first, before a really drying hop bitterness that seemed to spring clean my mouth. It was crisp, refreshing, easy to drink – exactly what I had been craving.

I just had a wee Google of Golden Eagle, and I see that the brewer, Dave (who moved here from England five years ago), only started homebrewing two years ago. Clearly he doesn’t muck about!